Spherical colloidal particles are ubiquitous in drug delivery, in vivo and in vitro diagnostics, as well as additives in almost every industry (food, cosmetics, paints, etc). The ability of these particles to accurately interact with biological organisms, cells and molecules in a complex mixture or in vivo is crucial in both basic research and clinical settings. The vast majority of particles used in suspension arrays are optically encoded latex microspheres with diameters between 0.3 and 10 microns (1 micron=10−6 meters) that can be interrogated and decoded with laser-based flow cytometry (measurement of cell sized particles). Optical encoding is accomplished by swelling the spheres with fluorescent organic dyes with different emission spectra. While recent advances in the field of colloid synthesis have produced anisotropic (non-spherical) particles, the ability to independently control size/shape, chemistry, and flexibility has not been demonstrated. Current methods for altering flexibility of colloids rely upon using different materials to synthesize the particles. For instance, wax can be used to create softer colloidal particles; but wax lacks the flexible chemistry necessary for a variety of applications. There is not a single colloidal system known to the authors that brings together independent control of size/shape, chemistry, and flexibility.